Brendan Aurabolt

…For those who don’t know her background, Mary Ellison aka The Fabulous Moolah is one of, if not the most decorated Female Wrestler ever. She held the Women’s Championship for 10 years. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. She won her last title at the age of 75 and made various appearances on WWE programming until her death in 2007. No one questions her wrestling accolades, which are many and that is what WWE focused on when the Women’s Battle Royale was originally named in her honor.

…The problem is the rightfully placed outrage stems from her shady practices as a manager and trainer. The daughter Sweet Georgia Brown (real name Susie Mae McCoy), who was one of her proteges alleged Ellison had her raped and kept her drugged to control her as well as stiffed her earnings. Ellison denied the alligations until Luna Machon–some of you may remember her from her WWE days in the early 90s–came forward. When she was 16, Ellison sent her to pose for an older male accuaintance of hers. It wasn’t nude but that doesn’t make it any less shady. Other women who attended her wrestling school or worked her promotion would come forward with similar stories, saying Ellison demanded “Personal Services” before they would be paid.

Anywho, since the was before “The Incident”–I’m referring to Chris Benoit’s Double Murder-Suicide–WWE overlooked the alligations and chose to focus on her wrestling stats. She is considered The First Lady of WWE alligations aside so…yeah. All that said, being reminded of what kind of person she was forced WWE to take immediate action and change the name of the event to the Wrestlemania Women’s Battle Royale.

I do think the new name is a placeholder. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if WWE announces a new permanent name in another female wrestler’s honor before Wrestlemania 34. They have plenty of time.

A few names that immediately come to mind:

Chyna: She was known at The 9th Wonder of the World (Andre The Giant was the 8th). She died two years ago at the age of 46 from a drug overdose but most choose to remember her before her fall. She is one of two women in WWE history–the other being Lita–to have won the Male-exclusive Intercontinental Championship. She was a part of the Degeneration-X stable along with Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

Trish Status: She wasn’t one of my personal faves but everyone knows who she is and what she’s done so…yeah. A VERY safe choice.

Lita: Same as Chyna and Trish.

Charlotte Flair: She’s been on the main roster for 3 years and is already a First Ballot Hall of Fame Inductee when she decides to retire. She is the only Female wrestler to have been NXT Women’s Champion, Divas Champion (retired at Wrestlemania 32, she was the title holder), RAW Women’s Champion and Smackdown Women’s Champion.

…I could go on. It would be very interesting to see if WWE publicly explains why they’re changing the name’s event more than who it will now be named in honor of. That will be really interesting to find out ^_^

Took me a minute to find this video, then couldn’t resist rewatching the whole segment in full:

…The relevant line is at 5:55 of the video. At that point, Cena says “I’m not The Undertaker. I’m not a battered veteran with a bad hip.”

When he called out The Undertaker on this week’s episode of RAW, Cena spoke highly of The Deadman. Clearly he should’ve watched the above video. LOL. Like with the buildup to ‘Taker vs. Bray Wyatt three years ago, ‘Taker doesn’t need to show up in person. Cena has the best mic skills in the company and has since he walked in 15 years ago. He can build the match by himself. That said, I do see ‘Taker appearing to accept the challenge in the next three weeks.

All that said, let’s return to the entirety of the above video. Obviously, Cena destroyed Reigns on the mic. He took him to school and it was obvious especially from the 7:15 mark to about 8:00. Cena literally teaches Reigns during their promo how you cut a good promo (‘cuz John Cena is just that damn good). Cena prettymuch taught him to stop holding back when he does promos and as the new top guy, he has the leeway to go off script. Reigns clearly got it a few minutes later as he becomes more comfortable doing the promo.

Now check out the part this video is cued to:

…SAVAGE.

Cena makes reference Reigns’ recent suspensions at the time from failed drug tests. In one case, Reigns was absent for the buildup for the Triple Threat Match at the 2016 Battleground involving him, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Ambrose was booked to retain the title and the match was built without Reigns so Ambrose and Rollins built the match on their own.

Both last week and this week, Reigns was half-cocked and cut some good promos. He wasn’t chewed out last week like he said he would be (it was planned) and this week’s segment involving Vince seemed to indicate there will be sine changes in how Lesnar is used after he presumably drops the title at Wrestlemania. Lesnar got away with holding the top title hostage 3 years ago because there wasn’t a brand split first and at the time, Vince was trying to get Lesnar to commit to WWE longterm.

…Expect the speculation to really pic up after Fastlane. Here are my picks for who might be changing brands and why:

Raw to Smackdown:

Samoa Joe: Currently out due to a shoulder injury. His getting moved could be a way for him to make a fresh start without competing with the top talent on RAW and have a shorter route to a title run or two.

Sheamus + Caesaro: They are the current RAW Tag Team Champions but I do see the titles changing hands at Wrestlemania. They beat everyone on RAW so much, a change is kinda necessary at this point. They would join The New Day and Rhyno + Slater as the third tag team to have held the tag titles on both brands.

The Balor Club (Finn Balor + Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson): It would make perfect sense for the trio to hook up with AJ Styles on Smackdown and complete the stable.

Sasha Banks: This would be a surprise but it makes the most sense. She would be moved so Ronda Rousey can be built in rivalries against Alexa Bliss, Bayley and Asuka. Sasha can jump right into the running to compete for the Smackdown Women’s Championship where she will join Charlotte and Alexa Bliss as having won the title on both brands.

Nia Jaxx: She is clearly being set up for a Face turn. Asuka is clearly being set up to win the RAW Women’s Title at Wrestlemania. Having put Over Asuka, she would be in prime position to make a run at the Smackdown Women’s Title.

…According to a few sources, Bayley is being set up to Heel turn to face Sasha Banks at Wrestlemania 34. Quite the swerve given the obvious teases of Sasha going Heel. Rousey will clearly be getting a title shot after Wrestlemania so…yeah. In that way, it makes sense for someone to Heel turn to work with her.

WWE is obviously taking the Universal Title off Brock Lesnar because he is an absentee Champion. Contrary to how Roman Reigns ended his promo this week, that was actually planned. Lesnar is clearly preparing for another UFC run so…yeah. Hopefully WWE will learn this time and not allow Lesnar to hold the top title hostage again. Lesnar has held the Universal Championship since he took it from Goldberg at Wrestlemania 33. He’s gonna drop it to Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 34, then focus on UFC.

The Shield–Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose–will obviously stay on RAW. When Ambrose returns from injury, the stable will work together again. I do see The Miz dropping the title to Rollins since his wife Maryse is due to give birth soon. He will obviously take time off to be there for her.

…Finally, WWE is clearly dancing around the fact Paige can’t wrestle due to her suffering the same type of neck injury that ended Edge’s career. The upside is she can help put over the other two members of her stable. The time will come when she will have to fade into the background.

Smackdown to Raw:

Jinder Mahal: Makes too much sense to not happen. Mahal had an AMAZING 2017 as the WWE Champion. He could be set up to feud with Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Title to help build him on RAW.

Baron Corbin: Zayn and KO both just arrived. Corbin would be the odd man out and so he would be moved to RAW. With the Miz on Paternity Leave, he would step in to dominate the Midcard.

The Usos: WWE’s best Tag Team going to RAW at this point makes sense. They have been killing it since they won the titles at Hell in a Cell last year. They whipped the Tag Team Division on Smackdown into shape. They can do the same on RAW.

Naomi: I feel like she’s competed with everyone on Smackdown more than a few times. She will eventually join Alexa Bliss and Charlotte as having won the Women’s Title on both brands.

Tamina Snuka: If Nia Jaxx goes to Smackdown then her cousin has to go to RAW. As a rule, Tamina and Nia are not on the same brand for balancing reasons.

There’s alot more opportunities on the Blue Brand since not many Male Superstars have held either title. The dirtsheets don’t expect any title changes at Fastlane but I do see the U.S. Title and Women’s Championship changing hands. Randy Orton will win the US title from Bobby Roode but will drop it at Wrestlemania in a rematch with Roode. Charlotte will retain but lose the title to Carmella via Money in the Bank cash-in right after the match. It’s been teased Carmella is gonna cash in soon so…yeah.

AJ Styles and the Usos will retain. I do agree with those who have said The Undertaker will personally cost John Cena the WWE Title by getting involved to set up their match at Wrestlemania 34, which is confirmed to happen. I could also see Randy Orton getting “Free Agent” status like John Cena after RAW. He hasn’t been used much since he put over Jinder Mahal when the latter was WWE Champion so…yeah.

…I didn’t forget about NXT. I do see a few callups but not as many as last year:

Aliester Black (RAW)

Drew McIntyre (RAW)

Ember Moon (RAW)

Velveteen Dream (Smackdown)

Wesley Blake (Smackdown)

Aliyah (Smackdown)

…I haven’t been following NXT news as much as I should have since the Royal Rumble but there have been alot of roster cuts in just the last week. This would help explain why there haven’t been any roster cuts on the main roster this year so far. Well, excluding Mark Henry being semi-retired (he will now have a part time in-ring contract) and

Ember Moon getting the call up to RAW is obvious. She’ll revive her feud with Asuka while Shayna Bazler and Kairi Sane exchange the NXT Women’s Title. Drew McIntyre being reunited with Health Slater and Jinder Mahal on RAW…THAT would be EPIC. It was only three years ago that McIntyre and Mahal were both cut from WWE, breaking up 3MB. McIntyre dominated NXT when he returned while Mahal obviously won the WWE Championship on Smackdown last year. Health Slater also won Tag Team gold so…yeah.

This is to of course, say nothing of the two confirmed returns. WWE is laying the groundwork for Rey Mysterio’s re-debut. Booby Lashley, who spent time in both UFC and TNA after he left WWE 10 years ago has also been confirmed to be returning after Wrestlemania. Regardless of which brand he’s assigned to, he will make an impact just like Shelton Benjamin did last year.

Mysterio does meet the maximum weight limit of 205 lbs (he’s at 175 lbs according to his page on WWE.com) to be in the Cruiserweight Division. Given 205 Live has been in need of a top Face for some time, Mysterio would bring that even if he’s kept away from the title for the first few months. He could also be pulled in to compete on RAW, Smackdown or NXT as needed. More so given he is expected to retire from wrestling as a WWE Superstar. He has already retired from Lucha Underground and New Japabn Pro Wrestling (NJPW) so…yeah.

Roman Reigns cryptically spoiled the Elimination Chamber’s outcome the day before on a CBS sports podcast. He was coy when he said he would look forward to having a Wrestlemania rematch with Roman Reigns. Now it’s official. Reigns wasted no time building for the match, referencing an Instagram picture Lesnar shared showing him pictured with UFC owner Dana White.

This actually seems to confirm speculation Lesnar has been keeping himself prepared for another UFC match. There has been speculation for some this is the real reason he has a part-time schedule with WWE. Lesnar fought Mark Hunt in a UFC match two years ago while still under contract with WWE. Lesnar and obviously Ronda Rousey are the only two Superstars who could do that because they both had UFC careers.

This brings the total number of confirmed Wrestlemania matches on the card to six:

Roman Reigns vs. Universal Champion Brock Lesnar

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The WWE Champion (to be confirmed at Fastlane; The current champion is AJ Styles)

For those who are worried about him getting buried, Braun Strowman getting pinned by Roman Reigns won’t hurt him too much. It’s only the second time he’s been pinned since he became a solo Superstar, the first being vs. Brock Lesnar last year. I do see him making it on the card but I am hoping it will not involve the Andre The Giant Battle Royale.

The Tag Team Champions on both rosters have a bit of a problem: They’ve beaten everyone there is to face multiple times on their respective brands. Breezango + The Ascension aside, it appears The Bludgeon Brothers (Rowan and Harper) are being kept away from Smackdown Tag Team Titles for plot reasons. Could their title shot be getting saved for Wrestlemania or are they getting sent to RAW after Wrestlemania for a Wyatt Family Reunion?

On RAW, clearly a shakeup needs to happen and will hopefully happen after Wrestlemania since at least the Usos have The New Day and Shelton Benjamin + Chad Gable they can feud and it would never get old. The Usos are the best tag team in WWE period. They made that clear when they curb-stomped The Bar at Survivor Series.

After failing to win The Elimination Chamber Match as part of the RAW brand, John Cena cryptically said he would reach out to The Undertaker if it meant he would be on the card at Wrestlemania 34 before announcing he’s going to Smackdown. This prettymuch confirms ‘Taker will at least make an appearance if not have a match.

Triple H cryptically said “Wait and See” when asked about ‘Taker’s status back in January. As it happens, Cena got himself into Fastlane’s Main Event for the WWE Championship involving himself, AJ Styles and 4 other superstars (Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn). I don’t see Styles retaining this time or Cena winning personally given Nakamura is a Face. That means Ziggler, KO, Zayn (technically a Heel) or Corbin will win the match.

THEN the buildup for Cena vs. ‘Taker will begin. The obvious problem is ‘Taker is well past his prime. Cena said so himself during the buildup to his match with Roman Reigns at last year’s Summer Slam. ‘Taker himself realized his limits when he had to be carried out of the ring after his match with Triple H at Wrestlemania 27. That’s probably why Vince made the call for The Streak to end at Wrestlemania 30 vs. Lesnar. It would be believavble for one and at the same time it wouldn’t ruin the character.

Cena vs. ‘Taker…I feel like it’s Cena’s match to lose personally. He knows he’s gonna have to carry the match anyway. Even though ‘Taker’s past his prime, bringing him back to lose to Cena makes no sense. More so since it opens the possability ‘Taker would lose two years in a row, which I don’t see happening.

…Nevermind the fact Sting (still) wants a match with The Undertaker. Obviously won’t happen at Wrestlemania 34 but Sting is pretty adamant about having enough gas left in the tank to do one more match…and he’s saving it for The Phenom. Maybe next year.

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A new WWE.com article just released sheds some light on the big reason Mark Henry had a part-time schedule since 2011 (ironically, right around the time of his imfamous Fake Retirement skit involving John Cena): He’s been actively scouting and recruiting new talent from as far back as 2012.

A few names mentioned in the article credited to Mark Henry include Apollo Crews (RAW), Bianca Belair (NXT), Baron Corbin (Smackdown) and Braun Strowman (RAW) but it’s obvious there are more out there either yet to be known or don’t want their connection to The World’s Strongest Man to be known.

The article mentions Mark Henry’s development process which involved The Rock and a trainer in a warehouse back in 1996. Today, WWE has NXT. Several current and former superstars also run a wrestling school or a promotion in both the U.S. and overseas. The Great Khali is the most famous Indian-born Wrestler. As I mentioned last year, WWE made Jinder Mahal WWE Champion mostly to help promote the brand in India. It’s become more important than ever in the case of international markets to identify employees or superstars who can take point scouting new markets or new talent.

Kurt Angle famously told Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles on separate occasions to go to WWE when he was winding down his run with TNA (Biggest non-WWE promotion in the U.S. after WCW and ECW were bought by WWE). As chronicled on WWE Network, Ember Moon was famously turned down by WWE 10 years ago but thanks to her persistence, she got her big break after finding success in Indie Promotions.

Roman Reigns, The Usos, Tamina Snuka and Nia Jaxx are all cousins. Reigns’ brother Umaga (died last year) had a successful WWE run, The Usos’ father Rikishi entered the WWE Hall of Fame a few years back and Tamina is the daughter of the late Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. Nia Jaxx is cousin and nice to all of them as well as the Rock.

WWE has had a long, deep relationship with the Fatu and Anoa’i families but they are not the only ones. Let’s not forget about the Hart Family (Natalya, Bret, Owen, The British Bulldog and so on), The Rhodes (Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust and Code Rhodes, who is now with ROH), Randy Orton and his father “Cowboy” Bob Orton and of course, Ric Flair and his daughter Charlotte.

The McMahons go without saying and at different times, all three of them–Vince, Shane and Stephanie–have held championship gold. None of Shane or Stephanie’s kids are of age yet but it’s certainly possible at leaast one of them could enter the business as a superstar once they are.

My point is it’s not just about who you know but who wants to know you. It just so happens when an accomplished former or current superstar has their eye on you, only good things can happen!

WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge airs on Facebook Live Tuesdays after Smackdown but becomes available on WWE Network over the following weekend. It doubles as a both advertising and offers a little something extra in between PPVs.

Given WWE announced it will be ending brand-exclusive PPVs last week after Wrestlemania, this is clearly an experiment to see what other ways they can put out new content. Ending the brand exclusive PPVs makes sense purely from a cost-effective point of view: Two PPVs a month means paying for two venues and it adds up over a 12-year period. WWE introduced brand-exclusive PPVs after the brand split in 2016.

The only PPVs that remained cross-brand were the big four: The Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summer Slam and Survivor Series. A last-minute change that needed to be made to the Card on the then RAW-exclusive TLC PPV also comes to mind. WWE was forced to call in Smackdown’s AJ Styles as a last-minute replacement after Bray Wyatt was sidelined by a Meningitis outbreak that also took his real-life brother Bo Dallas, who wasn’t on the card and Roman Reigns (Who was replaced by Kurt Angle) out for a while.

They could’ve just removed the match from the card and though it would’ve sucked, you couldn’t have exactly blamed then. But, this is WWE and they knew there WAS someone who has a shared history with Finn Balor: AJ Styles. Styles and Balor both ran New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) Bullet Club but at different times and both men are besties with fellow Bullet Club members Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (both on RAW with Finn Balor). Most agree it was easily the best match on the card as they put on a classic.

…All that said, WWE is clearly looking to avoid having to make a last-minute change to a PPV match with little to no buildup. The changes to TLC 2017 worked because of the superstars involved with one match (Styles/Balor) and the fact props were a part of the other (Kurt Angle + Ambrose and Rollins vs. Miz, Kane, Braun Strowman, Sheamus + Ceasaro). WWE had 48 hours to get AJ Styles to the venue and when the decision was made, RAW and Smackdown had both aired for the week. The superstars involved cut quick promos that were posted online though. As we would find out in the RAW after TLC, the changes to the card likely wouldn’t have changed the buildup to Survivor Series.

Getting back to Mixed Match Challenges though, it’s mostly non-canon for all the Superstars involved. It will be interesting to see who betweeb Asuka and Strowman will take a clean loss if they meet in Week 10. Even if their partner is pinned, it’s still a loss…right? In Week 11, the team of Rusev/Lana or Bobby Roode/Charlotte Flair will face a team voted back in that was already eliminated. Strowman/Bliss seems the most likely if they’re eliminated if not Miz/Asuka if they are.Balor/Banks or Jimmy Uso/Naomi are other possabilities.

…I’m of course talking about New England Patiots LB Rob Gronkowski going up against Smackdown superstar and former NFL Player Mojo Rawley. Rawley Heel Turned a few months back when he attacked his now former partner Zack Ryder. Rawley had quite the year during the time his former partner was shelved due to injury, capped off by his winning the 2017 Andre The Giant Challenge at Wrestlemania 33.

After turning on Ryder, Rawley correctly noted the losing started when his partner returned and they resumed tag team competition as The Hype Bros. The above screenshot is of Rawley and Gronk getting hyped up before Rowley’s match with Jinder Mahal last year.

The Patriots LB wasn’t exactly pleased his best friend turned on his partner last year. With Gronk and the Patriots getting upset at the Super Bowl, don’t be surprised if you see Rawley start taking shots at him. Gronk didn’t rule out retiring even though he has two more years left on his contract with the Patriots. Not saying that’s happening anytime soon but Gronk making another Wrestlemania appearance wouldn’t interfere with is role as a member of the Patriots. Or rather, it shouldn’t.